Page 88 of Misrule
“You got my lipstick on you,” she said with a grin.
“I don’t mind, sweetheart,” he said gruffly. “It marks your territory. Allows everyone to see I’m taken.”
“Damn straight,” she said, a little breathless. She backed out of Knox’s embrace and looked at Mortician.
The disgusted look on the man’s face almost made Knox laugh.
“I need to talk to Knox.”
Mortician opened his mouth to speak, but Roxanne raised her hand.
“Five minutes.”
“Fine,” Mortician conceded. “I’ll be in the hallway. Leave the door open.”
Rolling her eyes, Roxanne sniffed and stomped into the room Knox slept in. The enforcer’s interference hadn’t allowed Knox a chance to invite Roxanne in.
“I could knock him out and have my wicked way with you,” Knox offered.
Roxanne laughed, a musical sound that lit his soul. “Don’t bother. The boy’ll come to and be madder than a motherfucker. Besides, he’s just looking out for me.”
Knox nodded. “I admire his determination and resolve.” As the words fell from his mouth, he realized he spoke the truth. Mortician took his duties as head of the family seriously.
She stepped closer to him and placed her arms around his neck. “I lied, sugar. I don’t have anything to discuss with you. I just wanted to get in here so we can make out.”
Chuckling, Knox wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve been dying to hear how the meeting with my mother went,” he said, interested to know her side. “From what Mortician said, it didn’t go well.”
“It’s all good, Knox,” she said with an enigmatic look on her face. “Joan is just worried about you. She doesn’t want you to make the wrong choice. Mortician is just fired up because of the way Bailey must’ve explained the situation to him.”
Knox settled his hands on Roxanne’s ass, and he patted one of her round cheeks. “If Bailey thought it was that bad, then my mother must’ve have been acting without any decorum.”
Roxanne plastered a smile on her face. “Don’t worry, Knox. Joan and me are going to work things out. As a matter of fact, she’s planning the entire rehearsal dinner. No interference from me.”
“And no interference from her as you and Bailey plan the ceremonies.”
“My man has a big brain that he knows how to use,” Roxanne said, brushing her lips over his.
Knox nipped her chin. “That’s not the only big thing that I have that I know how to use.”
“We just have to find a way for you to use it again,” she whispered.
“You could tell him to go and fuck himself.”
“Maybe, I like what he’s doing,” she confessed. “I think a small part of me is a little overwhelmed, knowing I’m marrying aHarrington. As I keep saying, I don’t want to wake up and find this is a dream. Or, worse, have you decided that you really don’t want to spend your life with me.”
“Hey, hey.” He took her face between his hands, hating the hint of sadness. “Don’t ever think I doubt my feelings for you. I’ll be at your side through thick and thin.”
“I believe that you will. It’s just a little overwhelming sometimes. I wonder how your friends and family will mix with mine.”
Not good or not at all, but Knox kept that to himself.
“I want our wedding day to be perfect.”
“It will be,” he said with certainty. “Whatever you want, however you want it, is yours. I’ll never, ever leave you.”
The sadness on her face tore at Knox.
“Johnnie said something similar to Kendall.” Moving his arms away from her, Roxanne stepped back. “But she called me, Knox. I could barely understand her, she was crying so much. She’s heartbroken because she thinks her marriage is over. I don’t know how to comfort her.”
